Urinalysis can be performed by impregnating a reagent pad of a test tool with urine, and then checking the color change of the pad by an optical method. Such optical urinalysis may be performed by using an analytical apparatus in which test tools are successively transported to a measurement point, where the color change of the reagent pad is automatically checked. Such an analytical apparatus often incorporates a test tool feeder for automatically feeding test tools to the measurement point.
FIG. 11 of the present application shows an example of a test tool feeder (See JP-A 2000-35433, for example). The illustrated test tool feeder 9 includes a rotating member 92 formed with a groove 91 for receiving a single test tool 90, and a storage portion 93 for accommodating a plurality of test tools 90. In the test tool feeder 9, by rotating the rotating member 92, the groove 91 is brought to a position corresponding to the storage portion 93, whereby one of the test tools 90 is received in the groove 91. When the rotating member 92 is rotated further from this state, the test tool 90 falls from the rotating member 92 to slide down on a slope 94. In this way, in the test tool feeder 9, the test tools 90 are taken out from the storage portion 93 one by one by successively rotating the rotating member 92.
The test tool feeder 9 is designed to store a single kind of test tools 90 in the storage portion 93 and take out the single kind of test tools. Therefore, to use test tools of a kind different from those currently used, it is necessary to remove the test tools from the storage portion 93 and load the different kind of test tools into the storage portion 93. Therefore, in changing the kind of test tools in the test tool feeder 9, the troublesome work of replacing test tools need be performed, and the operation efficiency is deteriorated.
To solve the above problems, a test tool feeder has been proposed which includes a test tool bottle for storing test tools, which is removably mounted so as to be replaced with another bottle when another kind of test tools are to be used (See JP-A-H09-325152, for example). Although this kind of test tool feeder can eliminate the troublesome work of changing the test tools, it suffers another troublesome work of changing test tool bottles, and hence, still has room for improvement.